Greetings. I've been working on this hack(Which is also my first, to tell the truth) for the last few weeks, and I believe that it is finally far in development to create a thread on it(Albeit I'll wait until the 5th gym to release a beta). Anyway, it's best for this image to introduce Pokémon Sandstone.

The Story:

As said above, I've been trying to make Sandstone seem much alike any main series Pokémon game. You obtain a starter from Professor Yew(Same vein as Oak, Elm, Birch, and the rest.), the local archeologist, who then asks you to deliver a Baltoy Figurine to his friend in Mason City. In the city, an old man notices your prowess and informs you about the local Pokémon league, the Spiral Head. Upon hearing the news, you've decided to accept the challenge and put your skills to the test.

The Differences:

Aside from the obvious fact that this is a whole new region, with a whole new evil team (Who are much more ambitious and fanatical than Team Rocket, to put it mildly.) I decided to add a few touches in. Firstly, you'll notice that both trainers' and wild Pokémon will have their levels grown in a faster rate than the average Pokémon game, combining this with Weisswald(The region)'s size means that there will be noticeable level jumps between each gym battle. Another big difference is that aside from all Gen.I-III mons being obtainable, I've added 25 Gen IV mons, all of them are either evolutions of prior-gen mons (Such as Froslass or Electivire) or legendary Pokémon that somehow fit in the storyline.

The Difficulty:

As said before, I'm planning this hack with a higher difficulty in mind. Aside from boosting the level curve, other methods were used to make the game more of a dynamic challenge and less of a boring cakewalk. You'll find more trainers on the road, who will often have Pokemon whose levels match yours. You will also find the uncommon trainer who will have one single Pokémon, but there's a catch: that Pokemon will often be much higher leveled than the average of the map (Such as how there is a Hiker with a Steelix before the first gym.) Other methods of improving difficulty are giving important trainers(Gym leaders, E4, rivals, High Priests) a full party. Gym leaders will also have a prepared team waiting for any savvy player (Such as how the Electric-Type gym leader will not only open up the match with a Lanturn, but his main Pokémon will be also have an Ice-move to counter any Ground-Type mons you may use against him.)

The Evil Organization:

Once again, as mentioned above, the organization that's been plaguing Weisswald is a shady group called Team Celes. Members of this team wear odd raincoat-like robes, they also seem to be keen of calling anyone who opposes them "heretics" and "blasphemers." This team is lead by a mysterious leader, who grunts often mentioned by calling him "Him." Below the leader, there are the three High Priests, who are the Celes version of Team Admins. Team Celes' objective is unclear, as they do not seem to be keen on stealing Pokémon nor spreading their message.

The Region:

Weisswald, named for the seemingly white forests in the middle of White Island, is a region composed of Valley Island and White Island, the two main islands in the center, Permafrost Island, the one small island to the north, and Fruitsalad Archipelago, the group of islands to the west. Even though the main character(Blanc/Bianca) starts in Valley Island, there are frequent small boats that ferry travelers between Weisswald's main islands.

The Features:

I do plan to add a "Hunt Quest." Think of FFXII's Marks. There will a building somewhere in the world (Hidden due to spoilers, but it'll be easy to find it in-game.) that contains the office of a group called "Rare Hunters"(No relation to the one in that anime, the name's purely coincidence.) In that building, there will be posters giving out rewards for trainers who catch/faint certain special Pokémon. These Pokémon will be of a much higher level than the ones found wild. Plus, I'm also adding "Hiker Harold's Hints." These hints are on signs that you can find in routes&caves. They will usually give a brief summary of the map's geography and Pokémon.

The Mons:

As said before, all 386 mons are available, along with 25 Gen IV mons. At first, I though about adding in a few of my own fakemon in the mix, yet the idea has been abandoned as even though I try to make my fakemon as Nintendo-style as possible, it just won't feel like a Pokémon game at all.

The Screenshots:

The F.A.Q.:

Q: When can I play it?
A: The first beta release will be after I finish the 5th gym. I'll update my progress frequently.

Q: What are the starters?
A: Gen I's. Squirtle, Charmander, and Bulbasaur.

Q: Are there any sort of references/shout-outs in this game?
A: Sparingly. I've also edited the text of trainers. Honestly, I've seen a female swimmer talk about her weight in over 3 hacks, all with the same text. This sort of gets annoying after a while, so I replaced their text with either humorous content or useful information, and some random stuff, of course.

Q: There are shading errors in the second screenie.
A: I'm aware of that. That was one of the first maps I made, so it's to be expected. I did improve my mapping by a lot, so I'll be revisiting several of those old maps.

Q: How far are you in mapping?
A: Up to the 5th gym. I decided to do most of the mapping in advance.

Q: The High Priests' clothing are...
A: Yes, I know. Just now that I've realized the unfortunate implications they hold. I was basing them off the Spanish Capirote, but I seemed to have overlooked a slight detail.

Q: I've seen the custom sprites, will there be custom music/tiles/etc?
A: Unsure. Right now my priority is actually finishing the game, so maybe in the future.

Q: Will there be any changes to the battle system?
A: So far, I only plan to power up the HM Moves, so HM slaves shouldn't even be part of the player's concerns.

Q: Where will I be able to find the HMs? Custom methods of evolving?
A: An often-asked question. I will put in a guide here after the first version will be released.

The Team:

So far, I'm the only one working in this project. But I've been using AdvanceMap(Credits to Lu-Ho), XSE (Credits to HackMew), FSF, and many other tools. I'd also like to credit diegoisawsome for his scripting tutorial. More will be done later.

The Progress:

Right now I'm at the second gym. So far a large part of OWs have been done. All sprites except the E4, one of the High Priest, and the Celes leader has been done.